Memoria
by FunkyFish1991
Summary: During a mission the Titans are separated from Robin. After hours of searching he's still missing and even as they resuce a mysterious stranger in need, the team is beginning to give up hope...
1. Flare

"Help! I'm being attacked!"

"Where are you?"

"Grid 9! Under fire! Requesting assistance!"

"Roger! Be right there!"

"Hurry! I don't think I can–"

_Super-Cy has been eliminated_.

"Oh man!" Cyborg cried, clutching his control mournfully. "I was so close!"

"Don't sweat it, dude," Beast Boy said, still fiddling with his control. "You'll beat me one day."

Cyborg furrowed his brow and swiped the control out of Beast Boy's hands with a devilish smile. It clattered across the floor.

_Beast-Man has been eliminated_. _GAME OVER_.

"Dude! What was that for?"

Cyborg shrugged, grinning. "Payback."

"No fair!"

"Don't be a baby."

"I'm not a baby!"

"Then stop sounding like one!"

Raven looked up from her book. Her eyebrow rose, and she turned her attention back to the story. Her slender hand rose to turn the page as the two boys in front of her began to yell and poke each other. She knew they would start wrestling if left alone any longer. She also knew that in about five seconds they would be broken up.

Only a few seconds later the two doors hissed open, and she heard a small gasp.

"Friends!" Starfire cried. "Do not fight! Please!"

The two boys stared crossly at each other, but did as she asked and moved apart. Beast Boy sat back down, swiping up the control and restarting the game, and Cyborg walked over to the kitchen area. He pulled open the fridge and inspected the contents carefully.

"Bacon, expired; chicken," he picked up the packet and peered closely at the use-by date in disbelief. "Prehistoric. Turkey breast, whoa!" he threw the packet back into the fridge in fright. "Is growing penicillin! Yo! We need to go shop–"

Suddenly the communicator built into his system went off. He silenced it and closed the fridge, finishing his sentence half-heartedly. "Never mind."

Robin entered the room quickly and turned on the mainframe computer to find the source of the alarm.

"There's been a disturbance on Seventy-Third. Come on."

* * *

The Titans arrived on Seventy-Third Street a few minutes later and were immediately assaulted by a flying, flaming car. Raven threw her arms into the air and the car halted its spinning fall as it started glowing black. She carefully lowered it to the ground behind them.

The street was chaos. People were running and screaming in all directions, and several cars and buildings were on fire. About one hundred yards in front of them a woman dressed in some sort of red spandex outfit was loading cases of money from an overturned armored truck in the middle of the street into a red van. Flames were painted on the sides of the van.

"Nice paint job," Cyborg muttered quietly. Beast Boy giggled as Robin stepped forward.

"Beast Boy, Cyborg! Can you take care of the fires?"

Beats Boy saluted him and nodded and Cyborg gave him the thumbs up. He ran over to a hydrant near the T-Car and ripped it out of the ground. Beast Boy morphed into an elephant and began sucking up the water and squirting it onto all the burning vehicles and buildings around them.

Meanwhile, Robin, Starfire and Raven raced towards the woman in red, who turned to see them and snarled.

"The Teen Titans – come to stop me."

"You're a criminal, and that's what we do." Robin said, dropping low into a fighting stance. Starfire's hands glowed green and Raven's emerged from beneath her cloak as the two girls hovered in the air.

"Shame, I would have preferred just to take the money without interruption."

"No such luck."

"No. I guess not." She smiled.

Suddenly her smile disappeared and she raised her hands. A huge stream of fire shot from them right at Robin. Starfire gasped and swooped down, grabbing his outreached hand and flinging his to safety at the side of the road.

Robin looked at his attacker in shock from his crouch on the sidewalk.

"Sorry, I didn't introduce myself properly. Name's Flare." She extended her hand, as if she wanted to shake Robin's. When he just scowled at her she grinned and threw a fireball at him with the hand. He back flipped quickly out of its path, and Starfire shot a volley of star bolts at her. She swiped her hand before her and a wall of fire appeared. It absorbed the green energy right into it, and Starfire froze in the air in shock. She had never seen that happen before.

In the younger girl's delay, Flare shot another fire stream at her. A black shield appeared to protect her, and Flare turned to glare venomously at Raven.

"Ah, the creepy one."

"Don't call me creepy." Raven ordered quietly, her fists clenching.

"Sorry. Freak."

Raven scowled and raised her hands. "_Azarath Metrion Zinthos!_" A black bolt resembling lightning exited her hands and shot at Flare. It was met with a stream of fire from the other woman's fists.

The black beam began to overcome the flame. Flare snarled and her eyes began to glow red. The fire ray thickened considerably and forced the black one backwards. Raven's eyes stained white and black tendrils began to curl around her as she struggled to maintain the attack.

Flare's eyes shut in her struggle and she began to glow. Her deep red hair lifted from her shoulders and floated around her head wildly. The glow intensified and she suddenly burst into flame. The pillar of fire she was using shot forward and consumed Raven, who shouted in pain and fear.

Robin leapt over and jump kicked Flare in the side of the head. The fire blast stopped as the woman flew to the side and rolled across the ground, still flaming. Robin's boot had caught fire and he ripped it off in alarm.

Raven dropped to the ground and was immediately immersed in a jet of water. The green elephant behind her pushed her up, sodden and dripping, with his trunk.

"Thanks," she mumbled, grabbing the soggy remains of her cape and wringing it out.

Flare leapt up and jumped over at Robin. He wheeled away from the flaming figure, but she managed to grab his cape as it swept past her. It immediately caught fire and Robin ripped it off from around his neck. She scowled at the useless piece of material in her fist and dropped it, leaving it to burn on the ground.

Robin looked at her, furious, but unsure what to do. He could not attack her when she was just a ball of fire.

Starfire swooped up beside them and fired more star bolts at the woman, her eyes glowing green. But, as before, the energy was just absorbed into the flames. Flare swirled and lifted her hands to incinerate Starfire.

But she was suddenly soaked under a deluge of water from Beast Boy's trunk. She shrieked and hissed in pain and started smoking, collapsing into a heap on the floor. She recovered quickly and looked venomously up at the green elephant before her. Her eyes were still glowing red.

She gathered her arms to her chest and started shaking, as if in pain. Her skin began to glow red again, and the Titans began to back away – Cyborg, Raven, Starfire and Beast Boy, who morphed back into himself, on one side of the street, and Robin on the other.

She began to scream in denial as the glowing intensified and she suddenly exploded. Raven formed a shield around herself, Beast Boy morphed into a hawk and wheeled into the sky, and Starfire grasped Cyborg by the arms and shot with him up into the air.

The blast radiated out below them. It flattened everything in a fifty yard radius, all the glass fifty yards out from that shattered and fell from its panes, and street lamps and pylons beyond that were knocked over completely. A dust cloud accompanied the blast wave, dirtying the air and causing a strange fog, though it settled soon enough.

The four Titans were blown high up into the sky by the force of the blast, spinning uncontrollably. They recovered quickly and looked in horror at the scene below them. Raven dropped her shield as she, Starfire and Beast Boy lowered back to the ground. Starfire released Cyborg, who looked at the place Flare had been.

She was gone.

The four teens looked around them in shock, one thing spinning in their minds, which made its way out through Starfire's lips.

"Robin? Robin!"


	2. Missing

**A/N - Sorry, forgot last time. And with my other story too. _I do not own Teen Titans._ I know. It sucks. Anyway, on with the story!**

* * *

Starfire's eyes were wide with fear, Beast Boy and Cyborg looked shocked, and even Raven was worriedly scanning the street. 

"Where did he go?" Beast Boy said anxiously.

"I do not know!" Starfire said. "But we must find him. Robin!"

She lifted into the air and shot off over the mess around them. Cyborg, too, ran off, calling his friend's name loudly. Raven hovered slightly, crossing her legs, closing her eyes and clasping her middle fingers to her thumbs.

Beast Boy stared at her. "Uh, Raven? This isn't the best time to be meditating! Crisis here!"

She did not crack an eye. "I'm trying to locate him with my mind." Only a tinge of annoyance stained her voice.

Beast Boy's eyebrow rose, but he backed away obediently. "Okay." He jumped forward, landing as a bloodhound, and began sniffing around the spot Robin had been standing.

Raven split through the air with her thoughts, searching for the mind she was so familiar with, but she was too worried to be successful. "Relax, Raven," she told herself. She knew that if she was too emotional she would not be able to control her powers.

It was no use. She was far too worried about her friend to even attempt to disregard the emotion. She had tried so hard to distance herself from everything, from everyone, but she could not stop herself becoming too attached to the other Titans – her only friends.

She uncrossed her legs and dropped to the floor, knowing there was no point even trying to exert that much control over her powers in her current state. She levitated into the air and began searching the conventional way.

"Robin!"

* * *

It was much, much later that the Titans regrouped at the tower. Darkness had already tinged the sky, and they could not see outside anymore. They were sitting around dejectedly in the ops room.

"I couldn't find the scent," Beast Boy said sadly. "He must have been thrown into the air."

"And Cyborg and I were unsuccessful in our searching of the streets."

Beast Boy looked at Raven. "How did the meditating go?"

"I couldn't find him."

The mood dropped further. A tiny tear formed in the corner of Starfire's eye, and she reached up to sweep it away with her finger.

"Don't worry, Star," Cyborg said, putting his arm across her shoulders. "Robin will be okay. He's a tough guy."

Starfire shook her head forlornly. "You speak of what you do not know. I think that not even Robin could have survived that explosion."

"You gotta have faith, Star," Beast Boy said.

"Faith in what? You all know I am correct." She looked around them, at their eyes, as if to dare them to contradict her words.

But none of them could meet her eyes.

"I wish to be left alone, if you please." She rose quietly and walked out of the room, the doors hissing softly as they closed behind her.

The four teens sat in silence, thinking about what Starfire had said. Eventually Cyborg stood.

"We can't do anything more tonight. Let's go to bed, and we can do something in the morning."

Beast Boy nodded, yawning, and followed Cyborg to the door. He paused and turned, looking at Raven, who was still sitting sullenly on the couch.

"Raven? You coming?"

She nodded and stood. Beast Boy walked from the door and Raven paused outside her room. She had a feeling.

* * *

The next morning the Titans headed out once more to scan the blocks around the accident scene. The emergency services were there, and the police. The Titans did not feel like talking to the police, so they avoided them as discreetly as possible.

After several hours of searching they could not find anything. They eventually headed back to the tower.

Starfire leapt up angrily after a long time of silence. "We are doing nothing! This is not helping Robin!"

"I thought you thought– ow!" Beast Boy rubbed the spot on the back of his head that Cyborg had hit roughly.

"I know," Starfire said, hanging her head. "But I cannot give up so easily. My heart cannot. We must do more. There must be something more we can do!"

Raven spoke up. "We could call the hospital."

Starfire cocked her head hopefully. "Yes! Who is this 'hospital'?"

"The hospital is where people are taken when they're hurt."

"Oh! Yes!" Starfire said, flying over to the phone and returning to deposit it on Cyborg's lap. "Please do call the hospital!"

Cyborg found the number on the internet quickly and motioned for them all to silence, though they had not been making any sound, as it began to ring. He pressed a button and put it on speakerphone.

They could all hear the ringing, and Starfire began wringing her hands nervously.

"Hello, Jump City General. How may I help you?"

"Hi, I was wondering if you had Robin there?"

There was a silence. "Robin? Like the Teen Titans Robin?"

"Yeah."

"Um, no."

"Oh. Anyone who looks like him?"

"Uh, no."

"You're sure?"

"I'm sure."

Raven stepped forward, closer to the phone receiver. "Any John Does?"

"Uh, please hold."

The Titans waited tensely.

"Hello?"

"Yeah?"

"We've had two John Does in the past three days. But one was a fifty year old Chinese man, and one was African-American, so I don't think they're what you're looking for."

"Oh. Well, thanks for the help."

"No problem. Is that all?"

"Yeah. Bye."

Cyborg hung up the phone, his mouth turned down. Starfire was close to tears, and left the room quickly.

"I don't get it." Beast Boy said. "How can he just disappear?"

"I don't know, BB. I don't get it either."

"The blast was very powerful."

The two boys' heads jerked to Raven in shock. "Are you saying…"

"I don't know. What else could have happened?"

"Maybe he crawled into the sewers. Maybe he ran out of the way. Maybe, uh, maybe," Cyborg could not think of anything else.

"The buildings were all flattened. And if he had hidden in the sewers, wouldn't he have returned by now?"

Beast Boy's face could not be any more dismal. He rose and stalked to his room. Cyborg followed him soon after. Raven watched them depart. For all her negative words, a part of her, like Starfire, could not give up on her friend. And the feeling that she was wrong persisted, though by now she was ready to call it wishful thinking.


	3. Attack

**A/N - I still don't own Teen Titans.**

**Thank you SO much to Mrs.Bloom194 and especially to cartoonstar for the reviews! Please review people if you like it cause it inspires me!!!! LoL :p**

**Anyway...**

* * *

The Titans were awoken the next morning by the sirens sounding the alarm in the tower. They leapt out of bed and grouped in the ops room. 

Cyborg tapped some keys on the keyboard to find the cause of the alarm. He was not the only one that could not help thinking that that used to be Robin's job.

"There's been a break in at the KeyGo factory."

"Let's go."

The Titans piled into the T-Car and arrived several minutes later at the monstrous KeyGo factory in the industrial part of town. They slipped quietly inside the building and looked around.

Raven immediately spotted two security guards tied together and gagged on the floor. She floated over and used her magic to break the bonds and remove the gags. She put a finger to her lips and the two guards nodded, obviously frightened.

"What happened?" She whispered.

"Some manic came in here with two guns. One was a normal hand gun, but the other one, strapped to his back? That was huge."

"Gotta be some sort of rocket gun." The second guard added.

Raven nodded. "Stay here."

She joined the other Titans, who were slinking behind one of the massive conveyor belts towards some sort of sound deep inside the building. They reached a massive generator and peeked out from behind it.

An enormous man was throwing boxes around and behind him, muttering crossly from time to time.

Starfire flew out behind him, folding her arms.

"Stop!"

The man wheeled around in surprise, and when he caught sight of her his face fell into a scowl.

"Get out of here bimbo, this is none of your business."

"My name is not 'Bimbo', it is Starfire, and it most certainly is my business."

"You wanna be smart? Fine."

He raised the shotgun with one hand and aimed it at her. Starfire cocked her head at it in confusion. He fired the weapon, and she heard the shot, but nothing happened.

Raven stepped out from behind the generator, dropping her hand and letting the shield she had put in front of Starfire fall. She was joined by Cyborg and Beast Boy.

"The whole team, huh? Well, I guess this calls for heavier weaponry." He turned and bent down. Cyborg's eyes shot open as he saw what he was reaching for – a huge gun that, as the guard had said to Raven, looked like some sort of rocket launcher.

Just before the man's fingers connected with the metal Cyborg lifted his arm, hardly noticing as it turned into a sonic cannon, and fired a blue ray into the man's back. He flew forwards, over the gun he had been reaching for and into a pile of crates. He rose out of the pile with furor etched into every line of his body.

"You'll pay for that!" He shouted at Cyborg, lifting the shotgun. He fired three shots at the teen, who just lifted his cybernetic arm and let the bullets bounce off of it. The assailant snarled and fired more shots, this time at Raven, Beast Boy and Starfire too. Raven shielded herself with black magic, while Beast Boy morphed into an armadillo and curled up on the floor in a pathetic little ball. Starfire had already learned that the path of the bullets was something to avoid at all costs, and flew away from it speedily, diving all around the factory. She finally came to hover in the air above the man and swooped down to punch him.

He rolled back his shoulder at the last moment and she soared past him. He chuckled cruelly and aimed the gun at her retreating form once more, but was suddenly flattened by a running wildebeest. The green animal turned after knocking over its target and changed back into a skinny green boy.

Starfire threw a pelting of green star bolts at the man as Cyborg shot another blue blast at him. The man dove behind a stack of crates and grimaced as he held his leg. A star bolt had skimmed it as he was flying for cover.

The man suddenly leapt out from behind the crates and ran slightly away from the Titans. Cyborg followed him, and his mechanized eye scanned the area in the man's path. He noticed the rocket gun sitting on a crate a few yards in front of the man and turned to Starfire, who was hovering just above him.

"Star! Get the gun!"

She nodded quickly and shot off after the man. She reached the monstrous weapon a split second before him, but he hit her over the head with the back of his fist hard enough to send her wheeling off into the air.

She winced, rubbing her head as she hovered lightly in the air above the man. She did not hear the slight whirring of the machine switching on.

"Star!"

Her head jerked up just in time to see the fat barrel of the rocket gun aimed at her, but not in time for her to react to the explosion as he launched a missile right into her. It caught her in the stomach and she flew out of the roof, her screams mixing with those of the other three Titans.

She soared through the air, trying to escape her metal attacker. But a sharp edge of the rocket had attached itself to her top, and she could not get it free. She wrenched desperately at the tough Tamaranian fabric, but could not break the rocket's hold on her. She suddenly noticed that they had stopped climbing over the city and were now falling.

They landed heavily on something very uncomfortable that dug into her back. She pulled viciously at the snagged fabric of her shirt and finally managed to pry it off the weapon. She studied the rocket closely and found what looked to her like a small computer screen. Numbers were flickering on it, and she recognized it as being like the digital clock in the tower. It told the time. But these numbers were getting smaller, not bigger.

She cocked her head, still kneeling over the ticking device. The clock always went forward, and therefore it could never stop. But if it was going backwards, eventually it would be zero. What would happen then? Time could not stop, could it? Whatever would happen, she innately knew that it would not be good.

She read the numbers again. 24, 23, 22, 21, 20. They ticked down. She studied the rest of the screen and noticed a word flickering in the top right corner. The sun was glaring down on it, so she changed her position. The word came up clearly. _Detonate_. Detonate? Explode! She gasped, looking back at the numbers. 9, 8, 7.

She launched herself backwards away from the device. People had clustered around near her on what she recognized as a railway platform.

"Get back!" she shouted, shooing people away with her hands. They complied quickly when they saw the ticking bomb on the track.

It exploded. It was not an enormous explosion, but it incinerated the track and blew out most of the platform. Starfire and the other people at the station were thrown backwards. Starfire shot over to catch a woman who was about to land on a barbed wire fence. The woman thanked her profusely, close to tears, but Starfire was already flying back to survey the damage.

"Oh my," she said sadly when she saw the remains of the track.

"Yo Star!"

She turned at Cyborg's voice and smiled in greeting. "I am afraid that the noisy, flying weapon has caused much damage to the station of the trains."

"No kidding," Beast Boy said, his mouth wide.

"You okay, Star?" Cyborg asked worriedly.

"I am unharmed. But I feel bad for the trouble we have caused."

"Hey! Not out fault!" Beast Boy said.

"Don't worry about it, Star."

She nodded. "Alright. What of the horrible man with the oversized blaster? Did you apprehend him?"

"Nope," Cyborg said crossly.

"He got away." Raven said.

"Well," Beast Boy said, putting his fists on his hips. "I guess we should help clear up."

Cyborg groaned.

* * *

**Not to be needy, but please review if you like it. One word reviews are frowned upon but still acceptable ;)**

**:p hope you like it! ****Until next time!**

**FunkyFish1991 xXx**


	4. Stranger

**A/N - Nope, things haven't changed. I still don't own them. Or anyone else you might recognize...**

**thanks go** **to RoseXxxXThorn and cartoonstar** **(again) for reviewing the last chapter!!!**

**on with the show!**

* * *

A few minutes later, the Titans had cleared the station of most of the rubble, and any immediate dangers like exposed pipes and wires, and pieces of debris that had flown onto the station roof. 

A conductor came over to them, looking grim.

"Thanks for the help."

"Don't mention it," Cyborg said.

"So, how long is the station gonna be out of it?" Beast Boy said, morphing back into a human from an octopus and dropping all the brooms.

"I just got off the phone. They said it could be two, maybe three weeks until the track is repaired."

"Ouch."

"Yes, but it should–"

"What do you mean three weeks?"

The conductor was interrupted by what sounded like a very cross teenage boy. Her continued, ignoring the voice.

"Excuse me, it should only be–"

"But I _have _to be in Gotham as soon as possible! It's very important!"

The Titans peered around the conductor to see a black-haired boy looking incredulously at another conductor. He was wearing tattered green shorts and a red t-shirt that was missing an arm. The outfit looked more as though he had been mugged than like it was supposed to look like that.

"I'm sorry sir, but that won't be possible. Not by train anyway."

"How else am I supposed to get there?"

"Airplane?"

"Do I look like I have enough money for an airplane?"

The conductor looked him up and down, as did the Titans. No, he did not.

"Then try walking, kid, 'cause you ain't taking the train."

"I don't have anywhere to stay!"

"Not my problem, kid."

The boy's face set into a scowl as the haughty conductor stalked off. He walked over to an upturned bench. He set his raggedy bag down, righted it, then picked up his bag and set it down next to him as he sat on the bench. He dropped his head into his hands, his fingers in his hair.

The Titans looked at each other, and they seemed to agree silently. Starfire walked over and stood in front of him, her hands clasped in front of her. She waited for a bit but he did not seem to notice her. She gingerly cleared her throat and his head snapped up. She was momentarily frozen by his startlingly blue eyes.

"Hello."

"Hi. What is it?"

"My friends," she motioned behind her to the other Titans. Beast Boy waved excitedly until Cyborg smacked him on the arm. "And I could not help but to overhear your problem. We would like to offer for you to stay with us until you can get a train to Gotham city."

He looked confused. "Really? Uh, why? I don't even know you."

"No, but we cannot help but feel partially responsible for your situation," she looked guiltily at the smashed up track, then back down at him. "And we really do have plenty of room for you in our tower."

"Your tower?"

"Yes, Titans Tower."

He still looked blank.

"Have you not heard of the Teen Titans?"

"No. Should I have?"

She shook her head slightly. "I suppose not. If you are from Gotham you may not have." They were in silence for a little while. "So, will you accept our invitation?"

He shrugged, then grabbed his back and stood. He was a little taller than her, and she stepped back so she did not have to crane her neck up at him. "Sure, sounds good to me. Thanks."

She beamed at him. "Wonderful!" She stuck out her hand. "I believe it is customary for us to clutch each other's hands and shake them vigorously when meeting new people. My name is Starfire."

He took her hand and shook it casually. "Dick Grayson."

* * *

The Titans were in the ops room a little later on, their new guest first on all of their minds. 

Starfire had just returned from showing him where he would be staying. He had asked to shower and she had said that that was fine. She had gone out and bought him some new clothes from the mall and left them on his bed.

The Titans all looked up when he entered the room. He was wearing the jeans, Vans and beige O'Neill t-shirt Starfire had bought for him. He walked towards them, down the stairs.

Starfire's eyes narrowed slightly as she watched him. There was something about the way he walked, the self-assuredness, the purpose, and the way he held his head so confidently, that reminded her of – Robin. She downcast her eyes before they welled up once more.

He swung down onto the couch next to them.

Beast Boy bounded up to him. "Hi dude! I'm Beast Boy! That's Raven," he pointed at the girl who was sitting cross-legged in the air with a book. She looked up when she heard her name and nodded at the newcomer. "That's Cyborg," Cyborg grinned at him. "And you already know Star. So what brings you to Jump City?"

Dick shrugged slightly. "Not sure."

"Not sure? How can you not be sure?"

"I woke up yesterday in the hospital, knowing that my name was Dick Grayson and nothing else but an overwhelming urge to get to Gotham City."

The Titans were shocked, and even Raven closed her book quietly and landed.

"Dude! So you have, like, amnesia?"

"Yeah."

"Whoa. So, how did you get into hospital?"

"Not sure. Some hobo brought me there, but didn't speak English, at least not understandable English, and left right after throwing me at a doctor. I don't know what happened to me."

"Weird." Beast Boy sounded intrigued. "So you can't remember anything else?"

"Nothing."

"Where you used to live?"

"I assume I live in Gotham, but I can't be sure."

"Your family?"

"Can't remember."

"Friends?"

Dick shrugged again.

"Hey!" Cyborg said, jumping up. "We could research you on the Titans Mainframe if you want!"

Dick nodded slightly. "Sure, why not?"

Cyborg galloped over to his beloved computer and typed 'Dick Grayson' into the search engine. Many entries came up, but they were either for someone called 'Dick' something, or something 'Grayson'. Not the two together.

"No go." Cyborg said.

"Try 'Richard'."

Cyborg complied with Beast Boy's suggestion, typing in 'Richard Grayson', but again, nothing came up.

Dick shrugged. "Oh well." He stood. "Thanks for trying. And thanks for letting me stay here."

Starfire was staring at him. He stood so similarly to Robin, his weight slightly on his left leg, his hips forward, his hands hanging casually by his sides, his head leant back slightly. She pursed her lips against emotion and stood. She turned silently and walked towards the door.

Dick watched her miserable exit, his interest piqued.

* * *

**like it? please review!!!!!! i'll love you forEVER**

**FunkyFish1991 xXx**


	5. Practice

**A/N - nope. I still don't own 'em!**

**aw thanks so much to everybody who reviewed! you're so sweet!**

* * *

Dick woke up the next morning to an eager knock on his door. He jumped out of bed and ran to answer it. 

"What's wrong?"

Beast Boy jumped back a little, startled. "Uh, nothing. We were just about to go outside and practice, and we were wondering if you wanted to come?"

Dick nodded. "Alright. I'll be right out."

"Great!"

Dick quickly changed into some more of the clothes Starfire had brought back for him and went downstairs. He grabbed an apple from the counter and went down outside. He threw the apple away almost as soon as he stepped outside when he noticed the bluish-green fluff that had all but taken over the side of the apple that had been concealed when in the bowl.

He looked up, and stared around in amazement. The 'T' shaped tower was built on some sort of tiny island just off the mainland, and he could see the ocean stretching out forever before him. The sun was just finishing rising and everything had a golden glow.

He spotted the Titans down and over to his right and made his way over to them.

"Hey Dick! Whaddya think of our obstacle course?"

Dick looked at what Cyborg was pointing to. The obstacle course started with a long stretch of sharp rocks to traverse, followed by a twenty yard lake. After the lake there were five huge square arches with what looked like blades hanging from the tops of them. After that was a stretch lined by two walls with spikes inlaid into them. Finally there was a thirty foot sheer metal wall with no ropes or anything on it, followed by a twenty yard area of what looked like glass before the finishing arch.

Dick nodded in admiration. "Looks hard.

"Oh, it is. Wanna try?"

"Not really."

Cyborg laughed. "Cool, cool. Who's gonna go first?"

Beast Boy leapt into the air. "Me! Me!"

"Alright, come on." Cyborg beckoned Dick over to what looked a control panel where the two girls were already standing. He nodded to them, Raven nodded back and Starfire shook her hand slightly at him.

Cyborg grabbed a mike on the control panel and pulled it to his mouth. "Beast Boy – are you ready?"

Beast Boy, at the starting point, gave him two thumbs up.

"Okay, on your marks," Beast Boy crouched slightly. "Get set," Beast Boy morphed into a green cheetah, much to Dick's surprise. "Go!"

The cheetah sprinted at full tilt down the field of rocks, jumping over them and leaping across crevices, avoiding sharp peaks and flat, slippery bits.

He jumped off the last rock and in the air changed into a streamline swordfish. He entered the lake, swimming through it at a great speed, then leapt out and turned into a hawk. He soared through the five arches, the guillotines crashing down to the ground just behind him each time.

He then turned into a sparrow, and the tiny bird flitted nimbly between the two walls, as vicious spikes shot out of the walls at him. He popped out the other end and turned into a raven, soaring up and over the sheer wall.

He landed on the glassy surface beyond the wall as a turtle. He tucked in his legs and head and let himself slip quickly across the ice and through the finishing arch.

"And he's through!" Cyborg shouted.

"Hooray for Beast Boy!" Starfire cried, jumping into the air and clapping her hands.

Beast Boy rejoined them, panting slightly and bent down, his hands on his knees. "So? How'd I do?"

"One minute and fifteen seconds! New personal record!"

"Yeah! Go Beast Boy, new record, go Beast Boy, you rule, go Beast Boy," he circled his arms in front of him and moved from side to side in a strange victory dance.

Dick peered at the screen. "What's you guys' all time record?"

"Uh, Starfire, fifty eight seconds."

Dick looked impressed and glanced round at Starfire. She blushed slightly and landed beside Raven.

Cyborg walked over to her. "Why don't you go? See if you can beat your record? I'm guessing you still don't want to have a try?" He asked Dick, who folded his arms and gave him a stare.

"Yeah – go on, Star!" Beast Boy egged. "Show him whatcha got!"

"Alright," she said reluctantly. "I will go."

She flew swiftly over to the starting arch. Cyborg again grabbed the microphone again and spoke into it like a wrestling announcer.

"And our next contestant – Starfire! Starfire, are…you…ready…?" He drew out the words with a grin.

She nodded at him.

"Then on your marks, get set," She lifted into the air. "Go!"

She sped over the rocks, over the lake. She rocketed through the five arches, far before the blades crashed down behind her. She went through the enclosed section, avoiding the spikes and blasting the ones she could not with her green star bolts.

One of the spikes was hit by splinters of another and span off towards the control panel. It was heading right for Dick's head. His eyes widened in panic, and he froze.

"Dude!" Beast Boy yelled, morphing into a rhino and dashing over to him, intending to be a shield for their new friend. He realised quickly that he would not get there in time and his heart dropped, though he kept charging.

The spike was only a few seconds away from crushing into Dick's head before he suddenly launched himself into the air. He flipped his whole body up and round, his back curving gracefully under him. The spike shot below him, just skimming his skin. He moved further round in his spin, his feet flipping over his head, and landed, somewhat surprised, on the back of a charging green rhino.

The animal stopped, sending Dick flying off its back. He twisted in the air like a cat and landed in a crouch on the ground as Beast Boy morphed back into himself and ran over to help Dick up.

"Dude – are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. That was weird." He rubbed the back of his neck in confusion.

Raven and Cyborg had already joined them, and Starfire had abandoned the course and flown over to them also.

"Dick! I am so terribly sorry! You are unharmed?"

"Yeah, Starfire, I'm fine."

"Am I the only one wondering how you did that?" Raven's gravelly voice sounded between them.

"No."

"Nope."

"No!"

The four Titans looked at the boy for an answer.

"I can't remember," he looked annoyed, as if he was searching his memory futilely. "I fell like, I can't," he put his fingers to his temples and shut his eyes. The Titans waited, immensely curious, until suddenly the azure eyes shot open.

"I remember a tent – a circus tent, and cheering crowds. I think, I think I was an acrobat."

Starfire was sitting on the roof, staring out at the sunset. She loved it. The colors, the warm, soothing heat, the calm. She was swinging her legs over the edge of the building, her hands resting either side of her.

She breathed in deeply and tilted her head back.

"Starfire?"

Her eyes flashed open and she looked at the midnight-haired boy beside her.

"You have recovered from the incident today, I hope?"

"Yeah. Are you alright? You just seem, really sad – all the time."

She hung her head, abandoning all thought of denying it under his steady, knowing gaze. "Yes, I am sad."

He looked at the ledge she was sitting on, then peered down the side of the building. "Whoa, that's a long way down. A _long_ way down."

"Do not worry, I am here."

"And if I fell, I'm guessing you'd catch me?"

She nodded, and he did too, sitting down on the ledge and cautiously dropping his legs over the side. He seemed to relax a little and his back became less rigid. He looked at the girl next to him, whose face was fallen and dismal once more. They sat in silence for a long time, her thinking, him waiting.

"We used to be five. The Titans."

He frowned. He had not known that. Of course he had not even heard of the Titans until he was offered a place in their tower at the station the day before.

"Used to be?"

She pinched her lips even closer together and turned away, her eyes closing against tears. "Yes. Robin went missing four days ago, while we were on a mission. We searched everywhere, but we could not find him."

Dick did not miss the familiar way with which she said Robin's name. "You really miss him."

"Yes, I do. I miss him greatly." She sniffed. "I want to know where he is, if he is ali- alright."

Dick nodded. The silence resumed, as the sun fell further in the sky and it grew darker. Starfire's shoulders began to shake slightly and her head fell further. After a few minutes she let her head fall onto Dick's shoulder. He let her lie there, and eventually put his arm around her and pulled her close to him as she cried.

* * *

**Review por favor :p**

**FunkyFish1991 xXx**


	6. Mission

The pair was still up on the roof the next morning. Sometime during the night they had shifted off of the precarious ledge and now sat with their backs against it, Starfire's head on Dick's shoulder and his head on hers.

Raven had been sent up to the roof to check for them after her, Cyborg and Beast Boy had checked the whole tower and found no trace. She smiled slightly when she saw them huddled up together against the night's chill. It had long since vanished, but neither of them evidently had any subconscious desire to separate.

She walked over and shook their shoulders. They jerked awake and a second later jerked apart. They sprung up, looking embarrassed.

"Came to tell you that it's lunchtime and we wanted to go to the pizza place. You coming?"

"Sure."

"Oh yes! Pizza sounds wonderful."

Raven did not miss them avoiding each other's gazes as she followed them down into the tower.

* * *

They were all at the pizza parlor later, and Dick was being treated to his first experience of Cyborg and Beast Boy's infinitely ongoing argument.

"We can't get a pepperoni pizza! I don't eat meat!"

"So? You can scrape the pepperoni off!"

"What? The pizza would still be contaminated!"

"Don't be such a baby."

"I'm not a baby!"

"Then stop acting like one!"

Raven was counting down in her mind, and right on cue, the argument was stopped.

"Friends! Please do not argue! We can get one pizza with pepperoni and one without!" She picked up her menu again and turned to Dick. "So, the strawberry ice cream – is it or is it not a topping for the pizza?"

"Uh, no, it isn't."

"Hm." She turned to Raven. "Do they have mustard?"

Raven's reply was halted before it began by the beeping of the communicator in the clasp of her cape. She turned it off, as did Starfire, Cyborg and Beast Boy. Dick was looking at the device Starfire had pulled off her belt and held in her hand in curiosity.

"What's that?"

"Titan alert – there's been an attack downtown."

All the Titans but Cyborg piled into the T-Car. He looked at Dick, who was standing uncertainly behind him.

"I guess you'll have to come with. We don't have time to drop you back at the tower. Just, stay out of trouble."

Dick nodded and slid into the T-Car next to Raven. Cyborg sped off towards the site of the alarm and the Titans quickly got out and looked at the warehouse before them.

"Why is it always a warehouse?" Beast Boy muttered as they entered the tall building. Dick waited in the car, doing as Cyborg said and staying out of trouble.

The Titans looked around for the reported villain. He was not too hard to find. He was sitting on a crate in the middle of the warehouse, tapping his foot.

When he saw them he got up. "Finally. I thought you weren't gonna come!"

Cyborg pulled back in surprise. "You wanna run that by us again?"

The man smiled. "Oh, I don't want to fight you."

"Do you have a choice?"

"No, but you do! You see my friend; I have hidden a bomb in here. It is going to blow up half of Jump City if it isn't deactivated. I will, of course, be safely away from here. Good luck!"

He saluted them and walked between Cyborg and Raven towards the door. The four teens were frozen. Beast Boy called after him. "Wh-why are you doing this?"

"How else could I possibly defeat the infamous Teen Titans?" He started towards the door again, but stopped and turned back to them. "Oh, I forgot - just a little something to make it a little more interesting."

He suddenly pulled something out of his jacket. He threw the four small objects at the Titans. They hit their feet. They turned out to be some sort of highly adhesive putty that exploded from the four containers, and it firmly fastened their feet to the floor.

They shouted in alarm and tried to pull their feet up. Starfire began to blast at her feet, but when the smoke cleared she was still glued to the ground and her shoes were incinerated. Beast Boy turned into all manner of different animals but remained stuck firmly down.

By the time the Titans had looked back up from their struggles, the man was gone and they were alone. They fell silent, thinking, and they could all hear a faint ticking. All their heads jerked up to the ceiling.

* * *

Dick was getting bored in the car, but he knew he would probably just get in their way if he went inside. So he waited.

But suddenly he saw a malicious-looking man exiting the building. He was certain his expression was self-satisfaction. That boded ill for his friends.

He popped open the door and clambered out. He snuck over to the huge door, looking around him furtively for immediate danger. Seeing none, he entered the warehouse. It was dark and he waited a moment for his eyes to adjust to the dimness.

He heard lots of breathing before him and walked forwards to find the source. He saw his new friends standing in front of him, unmoving, and looking up into the rafters high above them.

"Guys?"

They all whipped round to him, but not moving their feet, he noticed with some confusion. It was then that he saw the reddish muck on their shoes, and deducted that that had somehow trapped them.

"Dick!" Starfire cried. "There is a bomb!"

His face set into stone. "Where?"

They all pointed upwards. "In the rafters!"

He nodded and looked upwards too. He could make out the faint outline of a sphere against the dim light coming in from cracks in the roof. He frowned – how was he supposed to get to it?

He noticed a high stack of crates a few yards away and darted over to it. He jumped up onto the first crate, then the second. He reached the top of the pile and was still far from the bomb.

He looked at a rafter next to him and did not even have to think once before leaping onto it. He gathered his strength, bending his legs, and jumped onto another rafter, higher up. He flipped onto the next one, finding it easier.

It was like everything he had ever been able to do was rushing back into his mind as he flipped and leapt through the air.

He finally landed right on top of the bomb in a crouch, listening to it still ticking away. He did not have any idea how to deactivate it, so he did the only thing he could think of. He kicked it. It swung on its suspensor cable, but did not fall. He back flipped onto a rafter behind him, then jumped forward again as forcefully as he could. His foot connected hard with the surface of the bomb and the cable disconnected itself from its mooring.

The weapon fell to the floor. When it hit the concrete it exploded, but not like a bomb explosion, more like a mug shattering. Dick dropped from the air along with it, but managed to grab a rafter and swing himself up onto it. He jumped nimbly back down to his friends, who looked at him in shock.

"Dude!" Beast Boy said. "I've never seen anyone move like that but–"

Cyborg hit him, hard, on the arm to shut him up before he upset Starfire. Dick bent down and grabbed the sludge on Raven's foot and managed, after some trial and error, to pull it off, realizing that it only worked when he did it slowly, instead of ripping at it. He freed Cyborg and Beast Boy as Raven helped Starfire. They went back to the T-Car in silence.

Just before they got in, Cyborg put his hand on Dick's shoulder. "Thanks man."

Dick nodded and slid into the car, holding back a smile. 


	7. Searching

**A/N - No. I don't own them. Yet...**

**Sorry for the delay but my internet up and died and we've only just got it back...**

**:D**

* * *

Dick was still asleep in his room, and the Titans were in the ops room. 

"Okay, am I the only one who was _way _impressed with our guy's moves yesterday?" Beast Boy asked, lounging on the couch.

"No!" Cyborg said excitedly. "Dick was awesome! Did you see when he jump kicked that thing?"

"Yeah! And when he was falling but grabbed that rafter and, like, swung himself up onto it?"

Cyborg nodded eagerly. Raven was in the lotus position near the window, not mediating but blocking out the boys and reveling in her inner calm.

"I mean, dude, that guy had enough moves to make Robin jealous!"

Starfire's head jerked up from where she had been sitting on the floor, carefully sorting and folding the Titans' laundry. She had long since lost her squeamishness, and, in the case of Beast Boy's socks – fear – of doing this homely chore none of the other Titans could bring themselves to do.

Her mouth turned down and her lips drew together, but she turned back to Raven's black leotard soundlessly.

"Nice job," Cyborg mumbled to Beast Boy.

"So," Beast Boy said nervously, to break the silence. "Where do you think he comes from?"

Cyborg shrugged. "Dunno. But I really kinda want to. It's starting to bug me."

Starfire spoke, though she did not look up. "If it is giving you the bugs, I am certain it will be giving our friend them also." She did look up now, looking as though she had just won a battle against her tears. "We must help him."

"I agree."

They all turned to Raven, who had lowered herself and come over, without any of them noticing. "We should help him. We owe him."

Cyborg frowned, then nodded hesitantly at her, holding up a hand. "Yeah, but the computer came up with nothing. If the Titan Mainframe can't come up with anything, there _isn't_ anything."

"Anything on the Internet." Raven corrected.

"Where else is there to look?" Beast Boy interjected.

"The library."

Cyborg turned up his nose. "The library? You mean, looking through old newspapers and stuff?"

Raven nodded slowly. "Can you come up with anything better?"

Of course, they could not.

Starfire stood. "Come, then, friends. We will go to the library. Whatever it is. If it will help our Friend, we must."

* * *

He heard a muffled voice from behind his door. 

"Dick? Friend, it is Starfire."

He groaned, rolling over on the bed, rubbing his knuckles on his eyes. He had been tortured once more with dreams, dreams bordering on nightmares. They were mostly incoherent montages of images, and feelings more than anything. It was annoying at first, and when the images became more focused and yet so far away from him it became utterly frustrating.

The knocking persisted. "Dick? Are you unharmed?" She sounded worried now, and he begrudgingly swung out of bed and went to open the door for her. He leaned nonchalantly against the frame.

"What's wrong?"

She looked momentarily taken aback at his dishabille. He had forgone a shirt for sleeping and was just wearing some low riding sweatpants. He followed her gaze and pulled them up slightly, rolling his eyes.

She seemed to collect herself and beamed at him. "We are going into town. I just wanted to do the checking up on you before we left."

He nodded blearily. "I'm fine, Starfire. Just tired, stressed."

She nodded knowingly. "I know of the stress. Robin suffered from it frequently." She seemed the tiniest bit more comfortable uttering his name than she had been two nights ago at their encounter on the roof.

Dick nodded. "How did he usually deal with it?"

She blushed. "He, uh, spoke, with me about what was troubling him."

A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Ah."

She smiled too, clasping at her hands. "I am glad you are alright." She gave him a brief hug.

Dick relaxed into her happily. He had felt starved of human contact for a while. He could not, of course, remember the last time he had hugged someone. He moved his hands, one up to her back and the other to the nape of her neck, hidden beneath all that shining auburn hair. He clasped the alien girl closer to him, putting his cheek on the top of her head.

They stayed that way for a little while before he broke away. Almost involuntarily he bent down to kiss her forehead. His lips brushed her skin lightly and he drew back. She suddenly tilted up her head and kissed the end of his nose in a familiar and loving gesture. It seemed to surprise her as much as it did him, and her face flooded pink as she turned and scurried down the hallway.

He looked after her, confusion setting in. He could not help thinking that that exchange had felt more right that it really should have.

* * *

"Okay, we're gonna do this systematically," Cyborg said, plunking two large cardboard boxes on the table in front of him, where Beast Boy sat, staring at them. Starfire and Raven, each carrying one similar box, moved to two chairs on either side of the table and set their cargo before them. 

"So, BB, you're doing 2004," he told the green boy, pushing one of the boxes towards him. "Raven, you've got 2005, Star, 2006, and I'm doing 2007. Remember, we're looking for _anything _that might mean _anything _helpful, not necessarily that mentions Dick or Richard Grayson. Got it?"

"Got it, dude."

"Yes, I have it."

"Can we just get on with it?"

"Titans, go!"

The teens started pulling editions of the weekly _Gotham Journal_ out of the library boxes and scanning the headlines on each page. They had already decided that it would be the most useful of all the newspapers the library kept on file.

They stayed there for almost two hours, keenly scanning for something that might give them a clue as to where their friend was from.

Finally a librarian came over to them.

I'm sorry, children, but we are closing."

"What!" Cyborg cried. "But it's only," he glanced at the clock built into his arm with shock. "Six o'clock." He turned back to the graying woman. "Have we really been here that long?"

"Yes, you have, my dear."

Cyborg shook his head dejectedly. "Can you give us a few more minutes?"

She looked as though she might refuse. But Starfire suddenly looked up, widening her eyes as far as she could.

"Please, madam?"

The woman sighed at Starfire's irresistibly innocent face. "Alright. Ten more minutes."

The Titans thanked her profusely and settled back in to searching the papers.

But almost ten minutes passed and none of them had found any success. The librarian finally came over to them once more.

"I'm sorry, but now you really must–"

"Dudes! I think I found something!"

The Titans leapt up. Cyborg called back to the woman as they ran for the door, Beast Boy clutching the newspaper he had just been reading.

"Thanks!"

The librarian looked back from the retreating forms of the Teen Titans and at the mess they had made in the library dejectedly.

The Titans piled into the T-Car.

"Dudes!" Beast Boy cried as they sped back to the tower. "I've totally figured it out!"

* * *

**ok not the most interesting chapter, but pweese review!!!!**

**FunkyFish1991 xXx**


	8. Discoveries

**A/N - Do I still need to say it? I don't own them...**

* * *

Back at Titan Tower, the teens clustered in the kitchen around the paper Cyborg opened at the page Beast Boy directed on the counter.

Cyborg cleared his throat and started to read.

"'Crowds were shocked on Monday when a trapeze act went sour, causing the death of two of the performers…the 'Flying Graysons', performing as usual, without a net…" he skipped huge chunks, just reading the pertinent information. "Fraying of one of the wires…fell to their horrific deaths before the crowds…and," Cyborg stopped painfully, then started once more. "Their twelve year old son, also a performer, but not included in that particular act…. Richard Grayson has been adopted by billionaire Bruce Wayne…"

"Bruce Wayne?" Beast Boy squealed. "Whoa! Dick is _rich_!"

The Titans gave him reproaching looks and he silenced himself once more.

"Poor Dick," Starfire said sadly, looking at the picture that had been included of a younger but certainly recognizable Dick Grayson standing proudly between a man and a woman, the three of them smiling almost triumphantly.

The Titans stared at the picture for a long time. The man was wearing a red shirt, the woman wearing one also, but it sloped down over her chest further than her husband's did. Dick's shirt was red also, with a black rim.

They looked so happy.

"He has his father's eyes," Cyborg commented softly, looking at the almost identical brilliant blue eyes of the father and son in the picture.

"Should we show him?" Raven asked, almost rhetorically.

"We will." Cyborg said, still staring mournfully at the picture. He grabbed the front page and folded the newspaper shut. The Titans all stared at the enormous front headline in surprise.

Beast Boy read it out in shock. "'Batman and 'Robin'!'"

They all ready the article. It outlined how the Black Knight of Gotham had saved over twenty people from a terrorist attack on an office building that week. He had been accompanied by an also masked boy, who an eyewitness told the reporter Batman had referred to as 'Robin'.

The Titans sat in silence, digesting their find.

"That was Robin's first ever appearance." Cyborg said.

Starfire was looking at the included picture of Batman and her Robin as they had been caught depositing some rescued men and women on the sidewalk. Her eyes ignored the larger figure in black and focused on the younger one.

Her Robin. Younger, with more of an innocent set to his jaw than the one she knew, but unmistakably her Robin. His hair was shorter, his body weaker looking than the strong, battle-toned one she knew.

Her Robin. Tears formed in her eyes and she had to turn away.

Raven repeated her earlier question after a few minutes of silence.

Should we show him?"

"Show who what?"

The Titans wheeled round as they saw a sleep tousled Dick walking into the ops room, evidently in search of some food. He opened the fridge, inspected the moldering contents for a while, then closed it definitely. He fetched a glass and got himself some water from the tap. He leaned on the counter on one elbow, sipping the water, and looked at the Titans in confusion.

"Why do you all look so upset?"

Cyborg swallowed and opened the paper to the relevant page as he turned it towards Dick. He set down him glass and picked up the broadsheet.

His eyes darkened with different emotions as he read the article. The Titans saw the blue eyes darting across the page as they read across lines, down, across, down, across. His eyes were first confused, then surprised, upset, distressed, angry, furious, resigned; distraught.

Starfire watched them all with a growing measure of concern, and an increasingly overwhelming urge to take him in her arms and hug him fiercely.

Dick's hands began to shake, and his eyes stopped moving, they stayed fixed in one place. Starfire innately knew that he was looking at the picture.

The picture of him and his dead parents.

She gently put a hand on his quivering one. "R-Dick?"

She was shocked at what she had almost said, but she appeared to be the only one to have noticed it. Dick was oblivious to her. She gently pried the paper from his hands, and he let her. She set the paper on the table and put her hand on the small of his back, guiding him out of the ops room, the Titans looking on, down the corridor, round corners and up staircases until they arrived at his door.

She opened it and they walked in together. She pushed him gently down onto his bed. He was still in a daze, and she was not even sure if he even knew she was there.

She turned to leave, but his head suddenly snapped up and he whispered her name.

"My parents." His voice was strained and laced with agony and sadness.

Her heart flew out to him. She had always had a tendency to be overly sympathetic, but it was different this time. Her pain was mingling with his – the terrible pain of loss. And it was equally real and new to them both.

She ran back to him and collapsed into his lap. He held her as she sobbed, and he too fought with his emotions, his shoulders and back tense and shaking. Her hands gripped his upper arms painfully. She had not cried like this for longer than she could remember. She had never felt it appropriate with anyone.

And she hated that she felt comfortable enough with Dick. She felt as if she was being disloyal to Robin. Her confusion mixed with her agony.

She suddenly felt Dick's hand fall on the nape of her neck once more, his other hand almost crushing her to his chest. It startled her enough to make her pull back and leap away from him.

He looked at her, with confusion, astonishment, and even a little hurt shining through his incredibly expressive azure eyes.

"Robin," she choked. His head dropped as he understood her struggle.

"Starfire, I,"

"Robin!" she gasped, clasping both hands to her chin. She wheeled and ran from the room.

* * *

Dick could hear Starfire's sobs in the corridor. He could tell that she was leaning up against a wall very near to his room, crying her heart out even more than she had been doing just before. Part of him wanted to comfort her, but more of him was still horrified about what the Titans had found out about his past.

His parents were dead. That part of his life had rushed back as soon as he read the words 'Flying Graysons'. He remembered all the gravity-defying stunts they had performed, the tricks, the wonders. The cheers they had gotten as they performed death-defying stunts.

He remembered the day his parents died. His terror. The funeral – a monotonous chorus of hollow condolences and sympathies he did not want.

He remembered Bruce Wayne now, his adoptive father. Wayne Manor. Alfred, the wonderfully stodgy butler.

But after that it was still a blank. He fought with himself for the better part of an hour, with his memories, or the lack thereof. His frustration grew and grew, almost consuming him.

At some point he was aware of the crying in the hallway disappearing away from his room. But it did not really register in his mind. His own hurt and frustration had taken over him.

He flopped back on the bed, fully clothed, his head in turmoil.

Somehow he fell asleep. It was a fitful sleep, full of images of his life that he had forgotten existed. It was painful for him.

One image that stuck in his head, reappearing and returning, haunting him, was an image of a simple black and white mask. It called to him.

* * *

**like it? please review!**

**FunkyFish1991 xXx**


	9. Trying

**A/N - You know what I'm gonna say...**

* * *

Starfire sat in the middle of the floor in her bedroom, her sobbing long since ceased, but the tears were still drying on her face and her eyes were still red-rimmed. Her knees were drawn up protectively to her chest, her slender arms wrapped dismally around them. Her heavy head was buried in her elbows, her hair spilling over her like a copper shield.

Her breathing was deep yet haggard, her green eyes tightly shut.

She felt like a horrible person. It had only been a few days since Robin's disappearance – she could not bring herself to voice the other possibility, even in her head – and she was acting as though he had never existed.

But it was even worse than that. Her mouth creased in confusion. The first time she had hugged Dick she had intended on a friendly hug, like the ones she would have given her k'norfka, Galfore, but once she had come close to him she had been able to detect the scent that Robin had always had. A natural, yet distinctive scent that she had missed so much. She had not been able to draw away.

And when he had kissed her, her eyes had been closed, and Robin had been who she had seen herself in the arms of; Robin who was kissing her; Robin who she was kissing.

But it had not been. It had been Dick. Her friend – her very new friend. She clamped her teeth together in frustration.

"Robin," she moaned. "Why have you left me?"

_I will never leave you, Star, no matter what_. _I couldn't_.

He stood before her. She glanced up, her eyes blurred and dripping with tears. He held out a green gloved hand towards her. Although she turned away from the apparition, he was still there, in front of her eyes when they were open, standing before her when they were closed.

She sobbed back more tears and swiped out at the vision.

"But you have."

_Never_.

* * *

"Star's getting worse." Beast Boy announced. He leapt over the back of the couch and sat on it next to Cyborg, looking at the older Titan mournfully.

"Yeah, I know. She really misses him."

"Yeah, well, so do we! We haven't turned into nervous wrecks who sit crying in our rooms for hours on end!"

Cyborg sighed at the naïve boy. Even he was not that stupid. "It's different, B."

Beast Boy sighed as Raven walked into the room.

"How is she?"

"Miserable. Same as before."

Raven did not respond, but levitated over to them and sat down next to the shape shifter on their horseshoe couch. She folded her arms and leaned back into the couch. "I wish I knew what to do."

The boys nodded in agreement.

Suddenly the siren sounded. Their gazes all snapped to the oversized screen and Cyborg jumped up to find out where they were needed.

"Whoa," he said nervously. "You guys aren't gonna like this."

"Why? Who is it?"

"It's Flare."

"Flare is the fire woman who k- attacked Robin, yes?"

The Titans turned to Starfire, standing behind the couch. None of them had heard her come in.

Beast Boy nodded. "Yeah."

Her green eyes narrowed, glowing slightly. "We must hasten. I wish to _see_ her again."

* * *

"Dick!" The voice was muffled by his door. "We're going on a mission – we'll be back later, kay?"

Dick ignored Cyborg and turned onto his stomach. He heard the titanium Titan run away down the hall once more, leaving him alone.

He dragged himself out of the bed and into a black t-shirt. He was starving, but had not had the strength to confront the Titans again. Now that they were gone, he was desperate for some food.

It was not until he reached the kitchen that he remembered that the Titans never had any food that was growing neither mould nor eyes. He still opened the fridge, hoping desperately. His eye caught some sliced ham that wasn't green. He grabbed the packet and looked warily at the use-by date. He sighed in relief when he realized that it was fresh.

He opened a drawer and found some bread that, too, was fresh. Suspicious, he looked around the kitchen. He spotted a note lying on the counter, and he picked it up and read it.

'Robin, I thought you may have been having the starvation? I bought some sustenance. I have gathered that food is not _supposed _to be furry? Starfire.'

He grinned inwardly and crumpled the note.

After having finished his sandwich he walked over to the couch, his knuckled pressed against his eyelids. His head still hurt. Try as he might, his memories refused to return to him. It was mind-numbingly frustrating.

He fell down on the couch, but jumped up again when he realized he had sat on something. He picked it up with slightly trembling fingers. It was the newspaper. He did not even have to open it for it to affect him. He was about to throw it back down on the couch when the picture on the front page caught his eye.

It showed some strange guy dressed all in black, his face covered in a black mask, gently lying two men on a pavement. Next to him was a boy in red and green, also wearing a mask. The mask captured his attention.

It was black and white, plain but stylized in its shape and look.

It was the mask from his nightmares.

He stared at it, confused. Why had he been seeing this mask in his dreams? He looked further up the page at the headline.

'Batman and 'Robin'?'

The names sounded annoyingly familiar. He stared at the picture some more. Eventually, after having regained none of his memories, he was just about to discard the paper again.

Suddenly a connection formed in his mind. Robin – Starfire had mentioned him before. He was the former Titan the other inhabitants of this tower avoided talking about, especially in front of Starfire.

So this former Titan was the one that wore the mask he dreamed about? It was too weird. He dropped the paper and walked out of the ops room, through the tower, to the one corridor he had never been to before.

The sign on the door read 'Robin'. There was some sort of number pad next to the door to gain entry.

His hand hovered over the pad for a while before something clicked inside him and he pushed four keys in succession. He could hardly believe it when the door slid open.

The room was simple. It was evident that the former owner did not spend a lot of time in there. There was a folded laptop on the table, and a neatly made bed. Dick had a feeling that that was Starfire's doing.

He walked over to the wardrobe and slid open the door. He was slightly taken aback at the line of red, green, yellow and black uniforms hanging desolately there, the five pairs of black boots and the row of black and white masks. He recognized the uniform from the picture of the boy on the cover of the paper.

Something inside him powered his arm to reach over and grab one of the masks. He ran his fingers over the black outlining the white. He turned it over. It was really good quality. The black was sticky, but not so that it left gummy residue on your skin. The white seemed to be some sort of incredibly flexible gauze – the kind that you can see out of, but that nobody can see into.

He walked over to a dresser, and his curiosity and his desire to solve his mystery made him raise the mask in both hands and put it on his face. He traced his finger round the black outline to press the adhesive onto his skin. He turned his eyes to look into the mirror.

And his heart stopped.

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**review please!! please please please!!!**

**FunkyFish1991 xXx**


	10. Dying

**A/N - la la la la I don't own 'em...**

**ok my insecurity over reviews had been appeased :) thanks guys! ok to the what, six intelligent people who told me i should accept anon. reviews? you're right! (i though i did but i turns out i dont! gotta fix that!)**

**on with the story...**

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"Ow," Cyborg murmured, rubbing the back of his neck. He got up slowly and clicked his back, holding back a wince of pain. The deadly whir of his sonic cannon could be heard as it charged. "Alright flame-lady, you're getting it."

He sprinted back towards the fight, following the roars and flashes of green light. He arrived back at the scene of the fight to see Beast Boy, as a tiger, leaping through the air at Flare, whose back was turned as she shot a jet of flame at a wheeling Starfire. His claws connected with her back and the pair tumbled forwards.

As they fell they disconnected from each other. Flare rolled quickly in one direction while the green beast skidded along the concrete painfully. He shifted back into his human form and rubbed his bruised chest.

Flare snarled and a flame pillar advanced on the wounded teen. Beast Boy turned at Starfire's frantic warning in time for his pupils to dilate fully and a small squeak to escape his lips.

Suddenly a black shield encased the jade teen and he sighed in relief, turning his attention back to his injured chest.

Raven maintained the shield as the fire pillar enclosed her green friend. Her lips moved in silent strain as the red-clad woman did not cease the blast. The thought slipped into Raven's head that this was a strange way for the two women to be fighting each other - over Beast Boy, of all things.

Her eyes closed as she tired. She heard the echo of Cyborg's cannon hopefully vaporizing the infuriating woman, but his cry of surprise and the easily recognizable clang of his half-metal body hitting the floor were a clear indication of how his attack had fared.

She cracked an eye to see if Beast Boy was still in danger, and her heart fell when she saw that he was. She was fast running out of energy and would not be able to maintain the shield for much longer.

Starfire swooped out of the sky, her hand poised to throw a starbolt at her enemy. Her eyes were radiating green light, and her hair was swirling madly around her face. She saw Flare lift a hand away from her attack on Beast Boy and, indirectly, Raven, and aim it at her. She smiled at her enemy's predictability as she dove right for her. Just as she saw the glow of fire being harnessed within the other woman's fist she swerved sharply around. She moved from being head on to the woman to coming around her side.

She swung her fist through the air and it connected with the side of Flare's auburn head with all the force of both her alien strength and the momentum of her flight.

Flare was thrown backwards. She crashed awkwardly to the floor a great distance away and lay there for a long moment. Starfire tasted victory and grinned. She was suddenly flattened.

The girl squeaked in surprise and prepared to attack her assailant – before she realised that her assailant was an unconscious and un-breathing Raven.

"Raven!" she gasped in horror. She put her fingers to the the thin skin under her friend's jaw, but could not detect a heartbeat. Her own breathing slowed considerably in shock.

She laid Raven on the floor and dug into the knowledge reserves in the back of her mind. Robin had taught her this before. She placed both of her hands in the center of her friend's immobile chest and pushed down sharply. She counted fifteen then bent down to hold Raven's nose. She breathed into her mouth three times, then started pushing down on her chest again.

"Raven? Friend, please," she whimpered. She finished the chest depressions and went to breathe air into her friend's lungs once more. Those completed, her hands returned to Raven's breast bone. "Please, please, Raven. Raven!" She screeched, tears blurring her vision. "I cannot lose you too! Raven, Raven please! Not you too!"

Suddenly Raven gasped and sat up. She took a few deep breaths, her eyes closed. Starfire gathered her best friend into her arms and rocked her backwards and forwards.

And Raven allowed her to.

"Raven," Starfire whispered helplessly. "I am overjoyed that you are unharmed."

"I'm fine, Star. Though the Tamaranian bear hug isn't helping much."

Starfire dropped her arms sheepishly. Raven's lilac eyes suddenly flashed wide. Her voice was filled with concern and alarm. "Is Beast Boy okay?"

Starfire shot over to her green friend. He was lying on the floor, but he seemed alright.

"Beast Boy – are you harmed?"

"I'm gonna bet my chest is black and blue, but apart from that I'm alright. How's Raven?"

"She is fine."

"Are you?" Starfire turned round to see Cyborg looking at her, concerned.

"Yes." She suddenly noticed his arm and gasped. "What has happened to your arm?"

"Oh, I landed on it pretty heavily."

His whole side was dotted and punctured with dents and woulds, and his forearm was completely crushed. Starfire touched it in pity.

"But hey ya'll – we won! Right?"

Starfire nodded gleefully. "Yes! The extremely unpleasant woman has been, um, I believe the correct expression is 'taken out'?" She gestured her hand to where she had left Flare lying prostrate.

But her smile vanished in a hurry when she saw just the concrete floor. She stepped a few meters in front of her friends in shock.

"Oh, this is _not_ good." Beast Boy nodded at Cyborg's comment.

"Well, where–"

Suddenly a wall of fire shot up between Starfire and the other three Titans.

"Friends!" she shouted in alarm. She could see them through the translucent barrier, but she was loathe to touch it, and they were already backing away.

Suddenly her hair was grabbed and she was tossed violently backwards. She skidded across the floor on her back, yelping against the pain. When she skidded to a stop she smelled something ghastly. She inhaled deeply and spluttered. What was that stench? She realised with a horrified start that her hair was on fire. She pulled what was left of it round to the front of her shoulder and stifled the flames with her hands. She stared in shock at the singed ends of her once beautiful hair and leapt up.

Now she had two very good reasons to kill that woman.

She launched into the air, eyes and fists blazing green, staring right at the woman, who was totally ignited, like she had been that day in the street. The pain of the memory fueled her righteous fury and her unreleased starbolts intensified in color and size.

"You have hurt Cyborg. You have hurt Beast Boy. You have hurt Raven and," she swallowed a sob. "You have hurt Robin. I _will_ make you pay!" Starfire managed to keep the hysteria she was feeling out of her voice as she screamed at the cocky woman.

Flare just grinned. Suddenly a fireball barreled into Starfire's back, sending her flying towards the flaming woman. Lying on the floor in pain and shock, Starfire still managed to fire both of her supercharged starbolts into Flare's face.

The woman reeled backwards, yelling in pain as Starfire fought her own agony. The force of the energy had apparently been enough to cause the older woman to revert back to her flesh and blood form.

Starfire was about to get up when suddenly something was pressing, hard, against her neck. She realised that it was Flare's hand. The woman's eyes were glittering unnaturally.

Starfire had once told Raven the key to her powers. She had not ever really thought about it before, but Raven had quickly demanded some sort of explanation. For her starbolts she felt righteous fury, her alien strength required boundless confidence, and her flying power needed for her to feel unbridled joy.

She felt nothing. All she felt was incredible pain, mentally and physically.

_Robin_, she called, tears dripping from her eyes as the sides of her vision began to blur. She could hear the shouts of her friends from behind the fire wall, but they were fading. Everything was growing slower. Her hearing was fading. She could not feel her body.

And a thought was pushing its way into her mind. She did not bother fighting it.

_I'm dying_.

A strange peace filled her. She had not thought dying would be like this. Of course, she never assumed she would die like this. She could see now that throughout all the fights they had been in, it was a distinct, or even likely, possibility. But somewhere in her secret heart she had always imagined dying peacefully, the man she loved holding her hand and telling her he loved her.

_I'm coming Robin_.

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**review again! please!**

**FunkyFish1991 xXx**


	11. Return

**A/N - still don't own them...**

**ok this is chapter 11...you may not have read ten cause i replaced the author's note with it. i wasnt sure whether or not it sent you guys notices...so if you havent read 10 this wont make much sense!!!!**

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_And a thought was pushing its way into her mind_._ She did not bother fighting it_. 

_I'm dying_.

Starfire closed her eyes. All she could see was black anyway.

The agony in her crushed windpipe was coursing through her body. It was all she could feel. Just as she sensed oblivion closing in on her, the pressure on her throat vanished.

The unexpected release brought more pain. It was as if her windpipe had forgotten that it was supposed to be this shape and was protesting. Her hands flew to her neck, grasping it feverishly. The pain subsided and she opened her eyes.

Flare was reeling away from her, flailing her arms in a strange motion. She looked at though she was trying to punch herself in the back. The fire wall she had been keeping between Starfire and the other Titans collapsed as she did, and Cyborg ran over ahead of Beast Boy, who was supporting Raven.

The four of them stared as Flare wheeled around madly. She turned suddenly and they all gasped at the sight.

A strange knife was protruding proudly from her back.

The Titans were bewildered and could only watch her die. Suddenly, there on the floor, her shoulders started shaking. Her skin began to glow red and her hair was flailing madly about her shoulders in a nonexistent wind.

"Whoa, I've seen this before." Cyborg said worriedly. He bent down and scooped Starfire up awkwardly, with his crushed arm under her knees and his good one under her back.

The four Titans ran for the door. Cyborg pulled ahead of the other two as Beast Boy struggled to support Raven, who was depending more and more on him to keep her upright.

He suddenly morphed into a horse, her on his back, and galloped after the other two, who were almost out.

Starfire peered round Cyborg's enormous arm to look at Flare. She was blaring with red light, and Starfire only had time to make one sound of warning.

"Eep!"

A blast wave surrounded them, engulfing them in flame and ash. They were thrown high into the air, spinning madly. Starfire braced herself for the pain of hitting the ground, worry consuming her for her friends.

Suddenly she felt a strange jerking and when she opened her eyes she was descending slowly to the ground. She looked up and saw that a large green pterodactyl with a much disheveled Raven on its back had grasped Cyborg's shoulders, and that Cyborg had tightened his iron grip on her with his good arm around her waist– his bad one hanging uselessly by his side.

Beast Boy was beating his wings furiously against the weight he was being forced to support. He lowered them gently to the ground, then collapsed himself and turned human once more.

"You guys are," he panted. "Way heavy."

"Friend Beast Boy, you are alright?"

He gave her the thumbs up, but remained on the floor.

Starfire moved over to Raven, who was curled in a little ball on the floor, enshrouded in her cape.

"Raven?"

"I'm fine. Just a little tired."

"Yeah, about that," Beast Boy said, sitting up. "Thanks Rae."

"It's Rav–" she sighed. "You're welcome."

"My arm," Cyborg moaned, inspecting what was left of his left arm.

"I am so sorry, Cyborg. Can you repair the damage?"

"Yeah, but not here. It's a good thing she made us leave though, even though that wasn't exactly her intention. I didn't realize how bad it was."

"Speaking of which," Raven said dispassionately. "What happened back there? Who stabbed her?"

They four of them looked back at the smoking building as if it could give them an answer.

Suddenly they saw the smoke swirling oddly. They could make out a figure sprinting towards them from through the smoke.

Starfire recognized the silhouette. "Dick! You have come! You saved–"

Her voice trailed off as he moved further out of the smoke, and they could all see very clearly that it was not Dick who had saved them.

Raven's mouth dropped. "Robin?"

"Dude!" Beast Boy yelled.

"Man is that really you?"

Robin grinned, still walking towards them.

"It's me."

"Ah!" The two boys shouted in glee and hugged him ferociously. Raven rose shakily from the ground, and Robin dashed over to support her.

"I can't believe you're okay," she whispered in amazement.

Suddenly they heard a tiny, high pitched clearing of a throat. All their heads snapped to Starfire. Raven gently pushed Robin away from her as Beast Boy returned to offer his services as a human crutch.

Robin moved towards Starfire. They stood facing each other for a long time, unsure of what to do. Starfire was unsure even of whether or not he was real. She took a tiny step forward and placed her slender hand on his chest. She could feel his warmth – and his heart beating steadily below her fingers.

She collapsed forwards onto him, her arms wrapped around his neck. His arms came up and gripped her fiercely to him, his face disappearing into her hair.

"Robin," she sobbed.

He tightened his grip further, then released her as he felt her pull away slightly. She stood before him, staring into his eyes. Or into his mask. He pursed his lips.

"Wh-where have you been?" she whispered, sounding dazed.

He stared into her gleaming eyes. He gently reached for her hand, and lifted it to his face. He touched her fingers to the edge of his mask.

It took a few moments for the glint of realization to show in her eyes, and they widened considerably, but the ends of her fingers curved around the edge of the mask she had always resented for keeping them apart.

She hesitated before pulling her hand slowly away from his face. The other Titans had gathered behind her, their breath all being held in nervous anticipation.

In one fluid motion of decision, Starfire ripped off the mask and stared into the eyes of the man she loved.

Into the eyes of the man she had lost.

Into the eyes of the man she had found.

"Dick?"

Her voice was tiny.

The others' were not so tiny.

"Dude!"

"Whoa!"

"That was unexpected." Raven's eyes narrowed. "But so obvious. How did we not see this?"

Starfire spoke again, still sounding disbelieveing. "Dick?"

He smiled at her, the blue eyes sparkling. She grinned, the smile stretching across her face. The mask fell to the floor as she flung her arms around his neck and raised her face to his.

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**one more chapter...**

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**FunkyFish1991 xXx**


	12. Epilogue

**A/N - tres short but...no I still don't own Teen Titans. Last chapter :p**

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Raven had just woken up from a very long, regenerating sleep. Rubbing the bleariness from her eyes, she entered the ops room. Cyborg and Beast Boy were at the kitchen counter, delving happily into their respective meaty and vegetarian breakfasts. 

Starfire was standing by the window. They had had to cut her hair short to remove all the singed bits from their encounter with Flare. It was now cut exactly like Raven's, as per Starfire's own insistence, though she had kept her strange, individual fringe.

Silently Robin came up behind her and slid his long arms around her stomach. He had taken to only wearing his mask on missions, and was without it most of the time within the tower.

"Robin?"

"Yes?"

She asked the question she had been meaning to since she first met him, all those years ago. "Why did you always wear your mask?"

She felt him tense against her back, then relax again into her. "It's like Cy said. I have my father's eyes."

She fell silent. Suddenly a shiver slipped across her shoulders and down her back.

"You okay?"

She nodded. "I thought, I thought you had gone. I thought you had left me."

He smiled, pulling her back so her head was against his chest.

"Never, Star. I promise."

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**The end. Aw.**

**FunkFish1991 xXx**


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